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ACTION BY CHURCHES TOGETHER BY-LAWS Revised and approved by the ACT Alliance Governing Board on 10 December 2020 SECRETARIAT: 150, route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switz. TEL.: +4122 791 6434 – FAX: +4122 791 6506 – www.actalliance.org ACT Alliance By-laws – revised 2020 Article 1 – Organisation and Principles ACT Alliance - Action by Churches Together (hereafter ACT Alliance) is a global alliance of Protestant and Orthodox churches and church-related organisations engaged in humanitarian, development and advocacy work in the world to create positive and sustainable change in the lives of poor and marginalised people regardless of their religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality. ACT Alliance is a non-profit association governed by its statutes and registered in Geneva, Switzerland, in accordance with Article 601 and following of the Swiss Civil Code. ACT Alliance has a decentralised secretariat located in different countries. The ACT Alliance “Founding Document” from February 2009, is the core document of the ACT Alliance. It outlines ACT’s vision, mission, objectives and member commitments. The document provides details of ACT membership criteria and obligations, the roles and responsibilities of the ACT secretariat, Governing Board and Executive Committee, among other issues. The ACT Alliance Statutes and By-laws complement it. Vision Statement United in the common task of all Christians to manifest God’s unconditional love for all people, the ACT Alliance works towards a world community where all God’s creation lives with dignity, justice, peace and full respect for human rights and the environment. Mission Statement As churches and church-related organisations, we work together for positive and sustainable change in the lives of people affected by poverty and injustice through coordinated and effective humanitarian, development and advocacy work. Statement of Commitment ACT Alliance members are bound together by several core values that are grounded in our Christian faith and which guide our humanitarian, development and advocacy work. These are reflected in the mission documents of the ACT Alliance, namely the Statutes, Mission Statement and By-laws. Article 2 – Purpose of the By-laws The purpose of these By-laws is to regulate the organisation and functioning of the alliance to achieve the greatest transparency, effectiveness, motivation, supervision and control regarding the Governing Board's functions of management and representation of the alliance interests. Article 3 – Quality and Accountability There are a number of overarching standards and commitments all ACT members are obliged to adhere to, irrespective of their areas of work. The members of the ACT Alliance are signatories to all ACT mandatory 1 Art. 60: 1 Associations with a political, religious, scientific, cultural, charitable, social or other non-commercial purpose acquire legal personality as soon as their intention to exist as a corporate body is apparent from their articles of association. 2 The articles of association must be done in writing and indicate the objects of the association, its resources and its organisation. SECRETARIAT: 150, route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switz. TEL.: +4122 791 6434 – FAX: +4122 791 6506 – www.actalliance.org 2 ACT Alliance By-laws – revised 2020 standards as stated in the ACT Quality and Accountability Framework. They include, among others, the Code of Conduct (principles of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief), the ACT Code of Good Practice, the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Relief (SPHERE). Each ACT member carries full responsibility for its work and is accountable to its own Governing Board. At the global level, the ACT secretariat facilitates and coordinates the work of ACT members to realise the objectives and functions of the ACT Alliance. The ACT secretariat is, through its general secretary, accountable to the ACT Governing Board. ACT reference groups and communities of practice support the alliance in the areas of humanitarian, development and advocacy, operating in line with ACT Alliance procedures. ACT forums coordinate work across members at the national and regional level (where such exist) and encourage implementation of good practice. Article 4 – Membership ACT statutes govern the general principles and criteria related to ACT membership, including admission, suspension and exclusion. A Membership and Nominations Committee considers all applications and makes recommendations to the Governing Board for approval. The Governing Board has the right to reject any application for membership. ACT Alliance membership takes effect once the membership or observer agreement is signed by the applicant organisation. Where a church has its own department or specialised ministry for humanitarian assistance and/or development, it is preferred that the department or ministry will represent the Church in the ACT Alliance. Article 5 – ACT Alliance Governance Structure a. Objectives of the Governance Structure The governance and management structure has been developed to enable the ACT Alliance to meet its overall objectives. In addition, this structure will: Enable the ACT Alliance and the staff to adequately address the specific requirements and needs of development, humanitarian and advocacy work according to their nature and at the same time ensure coherence and professionalism. Be equally owned by the “Global South” and “Global North”. Take account of the obligation to ensure good stewardship of funds by minimising the costs of the governance and management structure. Promote the • participation of members from all regions • participation of women and youth • ownership of the ACT Alliance • commitment to the ACT Alliance • coherence and inter-relationship of humanitarian, development and advocacy work SECRETARIAT: 150, route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switz. TEL.: +4122 791 6434 – FAX: +4122 791 6506 – www.actalliance.org 3 ACT Alliance By-laws – revised 2020 b. The Governing Board The Governing Board has the overall responsibility for the governance of the ACT Alliance between general assemblies. The Governing Board is comprised of twenty-two people from different regions with the necessary expertise/competency in the field of humanitarian assistance, development, human rights and advocacy work, communication, finances, political analysis and experience in ecumenical cooperation. It will be elected taking into account gender balance and regional representation. The general secretary serves as ex-officio member of the Governing Board. To serve on the Governing Board, the candidate must be of Christian faith and demonstrate active engagement in the life of the alliance prior to being nominated to the Governing Board. The engagement model furthermore prioritises principles of engagement and capacity over regional representation. Candidates for Moderator or Vice-Moderator must have the necessary qualifications to moderate and lead the Governing Board and represent the alliance. The composition of the Governing Board should include at least: Global Bodies (permanent seats): • 1 WCC Representative • 1 LWF Representative, due to its historical relationship as a parent organisation of ACT Alliance Regional Representation: • 3 from Africa • 3 from Asia • 3 from Western Europe • 1 from Eastern and Central Europe • 3 from Meso America, South America and the Caribbean • 2 from North America (USA and Canada) • 1 from the Pacific nations, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand • 1 from the Middle East • 1 from Global members Youth representation: • 2 seats assigned to Youth Criteria for Selection of Governing Board Members: • The individual nominee must be employed/or on the board of a member organisation. • The individual nominee has engaged2 in the life of the alliance. 2 Engagement in the life of the alliance at an individual level could include examples such as personal engagement in communities of practice, reference groups, governance bodies, forum coordination, etc. SECRETARIAT: 150, route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switz. TEL.: +4122 791 6434 – FAX: +4122 791 6506 – www.actalliance.org 4 ACT Alliance By-laws – revised 2020 • ACT Alliance member must have demonstrated engagement3 in the life of the alliance. • The individual nominee preferably has prior experience at senior staff, management or governance level. • The individual nominee has relevant expertise/competency in at least three of the following fields: advocacy, development, humanitarian, communication, finance, fundraising, political analysis or experience in ecumenical cooperation. • The individual nominee is well connected with the alliance members and the ecumenical structures in the respective region. • The individual nominee must be proficient in English, both spoken and written, and be able to communicate with Governing Board members and other relevant stakeholders during and in between meetings without the support of interpreters and must be able to read English documents. • Female candidates who fulfil these requirements are strongly encouraged to apply. • Willingness to serve as moderator, vice-moderator or treasurer an advantage. The seats for the Youth representatives on the Board will follow a specific criteria as indicated below: • Have relevant work or volunteer experience as well as commitment related to humanitarian, advocacy